5 reasons why we love Gloria Steinem

By Lauren Said-Moorhouse, for CNN

Updated 1724 GMT (0124 HKT) March 25, 2014

Photos: Feminist icon Gloria Steinem17 photos

Feminist icon Gloria Steinem – Writer and activist Gloria Steinem speaks in November during an Equality Now event in Los Angeles. Steinem helped usher in the women's liberation movement during the 1960s and 1970s, and she remains one of its most outspoken and visible symbols.

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Feminist icon Gloria Steinem – A portrait of Steinem circa 1970. In 1971, she co-founded Ms. magazine, the first magazine to be created and operated entirely by women.

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Feminist icon Gloria Steinem – Steinem, left, helps hold up an image of the My Lai Massacre during a 1970 march down New York's Fifth Avenue.

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Feminist icon Gloria Steinem – Steinem is featured as "The New Woman" on the cover of Newsweek in 1971. She was increasingly seen as the spokeswoman of the women's movement, although the headline to the story inside -- " A Liberated Woman Despite Beauty, Chic and Success" -- showed there was still a long way to go.

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Feminist icon Gloria Steinem – Steinem speaks at the 1972 Democratic National Convention in Miami, where she nominated Frances "Sissy" Farenthold for vice president. Steinem co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus, which works to increase the number of women in the political field.

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Feminist icon Gloria Steinem – Steinem, left, and Jill Ruckelshaus listen to a question during their appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" in Washington in 1972.

Feminist icon Gloria Steinem – Steinem walks with writer Maya Angelou on their way to the March on Washington on August 27, 1983. The event commemorated the 20th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.

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Feminist icon Gloria Steinem – Steinem, right, poses with actress Kirstie Alley at the Ms. magazine offices in 1984. Alley played Steinem in "A Bunny's Tale," a 1985 TV movie based on Steinem's experience going undercover to work as a Playboy bunny in 1963. After her undercover work, Steinem wrote an expose about the poor pay and working conditions.

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Feminist icon Gloria Steinem – A police officer arrests Steinem in 1984 during an anti-apartheid protest outside the South African Embassy in Washington.

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Feminist icon Gloria Steinem – Steinem applauds first lady Hillary Clinton at Clinton's address to the New York Women's Agenda in 1995.

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Feminist icon Gloria Steinem – Steinem poses with Gloria Feldt, former president of Planned Parenthood, at a reception in 1999. The event celebrated the relaunch of Ms. magazine by Liberty Media for Women.

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Feminist icon Gloria Steinem – Steinem holds up a copy of her book "Enslaved" as she speaks during a 2007 protest on the steps of the state Supreme Court in Albany, New York.

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Feminist icon Gloria Steinem – Librarian of Congress James Billington awards Steinem a Living Legend medal during the Library of Congress' 200th birthday party in 2011.

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Feminist icon Gloria Steinem – Steinem is presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama at the White House in November. It is the nation's highest civilian honor.

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Story highlights

Feminist, activist and editor Gloria Steinem turns 80 years old today

A leading figure of the women's movement in the 1960s, she has help rewrite rules for women

She's gone from undercover journalist to starting the first U.S. female-led magazine

The name "Gloria Steinem" has long been synonymous with feminism.

As a leading figure of the women's liberation movement, since the 1960s Steinem has fought tirelessly for female emancipation through her writing and activism.

As she celebrates her 80th birthday, CNN takes a closer look at how Steinem became a true symbol of gender equality.

1. Undercover agent

In 1960, a young Steinem relocated to the Big Apple to start her journalism career. Three years later, she was making a name for herself as a journalist when she showed just how far she was willing to go for a story.

Dressed as a scantily clad "bunny," she went undercover at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Club in New York. She then used the experience to shed light on the poor pay and working conditions women faced at the venue in her 1963 expose "I was a Playboy Bunny."

Photos: Feminists of the future 10 photos

Photos: Feminists of the future 10 photos

Young feminists – The names Betty, Gloria and Shirley probably come to mind when most think of feminists, but there's a whole group of young women -- and men -- who are working toward equality. Here is a short list -- who would you add? Tweet us @CNNLiving with #fem2.

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani student and education activist, who gained international attention after she was shot in 2012 by Taliban gunmen. "I want to become a prime minister of Pakistan," she said, saying it could make her "the doctor of the whole country."

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Young feminists – Journalist Gloria Steinem poses with Kierra Johnson at the Ms. Foundation's Women of Vision 2013 Gala earlier this year. Johnson, the executive director of Choice USA, an abortion rights organization, has worked to mobilize youth around reproductive justice.

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Young feminists – There's been no shortage of ink written on Tavi Gevinson, the wunderkind founder and editor-in-chief of the online magazine, Rookie. In her 2012 TEDtalk on feminism, she spoke about women in media: "What makes a strong female character is a character who has weaknesses, who has flaws, who is maybe not immediately likable, but eventually relatable."

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Young feminists – Samhita Mukhopadhyay is a feminist writer, speaker and digital strategist. As the former executive editor of Feministing.com, she also wrote "Outdated: Why Dating is Ruining Your Love Life." Now, she works as a senior strategist at Purpose developing digital campaigns for girls and women.

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Young feminists – Sammi Siegel, Emma Axelrod and Elena Tsemberis are three New Jersey teens who petitioned to get a female moderator for the 2012 presidential debate. CNN's Candy Crowley was named a moderator for the second debate, in which wage parity became an issue.

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Young feminists – Gaby Pacheco, an immigrant rights leader and director of the Bridge Project, left, was accompanied by Janet Murguía, president and CEO of the National Council of La Raza, when Pacheco testified before Congress about the DREAM Act.

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Young feminists – Jamia Wilson is the executive director of YTH -- Youth Tech Health -- an organization that advances youth health and wellness through technology. She's been named one of faces of the future of feminism and was part of a co-founding leadership committee of SPARK Movement.

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Young feminists – Shelby Knox was featured in a documentary that chronicled her teenage activism for comprehensive sex education and gay rights in her Southern Baptist community. She has been an activist for 10 years and works at Change.org on campaigns for gender justice.

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Young feminists – Sunny Clifford is advocate for reproductive health and justice and petitioned for Native American women's access to emergency contraception. She was featured in the documentary "Young Lakota."

Famous men who are feminists – Jimmy Carter has spent much of his time post-presidency as a human rights activist and author. The rights of women was high on the agenda during his speech in May at the Carter Center conference and now the former U.S. president wants to write a book on the treatment of women. In his book proposal, as reported by The New York Times, he wrote: "I am convinced that discrimination against women and girls is one of the world's most serious, all-pervasive and largely ignored violations of basic human rights."

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Famous men who are feminists7 photos

David Cameron – Jon Snow of UK's Channel 4 news recently asked British Prime Minster David Cameron if he is a feminist. Cameron said: "... if that means equal rights for women, then yes. If that is what you mean by feminist, then yes, I am a feminist."

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt – "My mom brought me up to be a feminist. She was active in the movement in the 60s and 70s. The Hollywood movie industry has come a long way since its past. It certainly has a bad history of sexism, but it ain't all the way yet," said Joseph Gordon-Levitt during an interview while promoting his new film "Don Jon" at the Sundance Film Festival in January.

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Muhtar Kent – Speaking at Yale University in 2010 Muhtar Kent, chairman and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company said: "I would say that real drivers of the "Post-American World" won't be China ... or India ... or Brazil -- or any nation. The real drivers will be women. Women leaders, Women entrepreneurs, political, academic and cultural leaders -- and women innovators. The truth is women already are the most fastest-growing, dynamic economic force in the world today."

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Warren Buffett – "Women should never forget that it is common for powerful and seemingly self-assured males to have more than a bit of the Wizard of Oz in them. Pull the curtain aside, and you'll often discover they are not supermen after all. (Just ask their wives!)" wrote Warren Buffett in a Fortune op-ed in May.

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John Legend – U.S. singer John Legend performs on stage at the "Chime For Change: The Sound Of Change Live" concert on June 1, 2013 in London, England. At a press conference prior to his performance, he said: "All men should be feminists. If men care about women's rights the world will be a better place."

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Dalai Lama – "I call myself a feminist. Isn't that what you call someone who fights for women's rights?" said the Dalai Lama during his International Freedom Award acceptance speech, presented in 2009 by the National Civil Rights Museum.

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A decade later, Steinem had become one of the most outspoken female voices in America and was often seen as a spokesperson for gender equality.

Joining forces with other notable female leaders of the day, including Betty Friedan and Bella Abzug, Steinem pushed for the Equal Rights Amendment after testifying before U.S. congress in 1970. Just two years later, the amendment was passed.

In 1971, Steinem not only co-founded Ms., the first female-led magazine, but she also started up the National Women's Political Caucus -- with the mission of increasing the number of women in politics.

3. It's in her blood

Today she's seen as a feminist icon, but she's not the first woman in her family to stand up for gender equality. In 1908, Steinem's paternal grandmother spent four years as president of the Ohio Women's Suffrage Association.

4. Activist

Giving women a platform to speak and be heard wasn't Steinem's only mission. She also lent her voice to a number of other political causes. Most notably, in 1968, she took a public stance against the Vietnam War when she vowed to stop paying tax.

Later in 1984, she was arrested alongside several other civil rights activists for disorderly conduct outside the South African embassy in Washington while protesting against apartheid.

5. The 'f' word

Though Steinem is credited as helping women find a voice in a traditionally male dominated society, she also redefined what it meant to be a "feminist."

She taught us that feminism isn't just for women when she said: "A feminist is anyone who recognizes the equality and full humanity of women and men."